If you have the Solar Bears' playoff picture figured out, you're the only one

Stephen Ruiz, Orlando Sentinel

So much excitement and uncertainty are swirling around the Orlando Solar Bears these days.

The ECHL franchise, a playoff berth already secured, will play its final three regular-season games at home with a cloud of unanswered questions hovering above it.

Who will the Solar Bears face in a best-of-seven, first-round series? Will they have the home-ice advantage? Will they win the South Division? Or possibly place third in the South?

It's probably best that the Solar Bears (41-24-2-2, 86 points) focus on what they can control: three games at Amway Center in the next four days, beginning at 7 Thursday night against the Greenville Road Warriors (39-24-2-4, 84 points).

"I'm more worried about Thursday, Saturday and Sunday,'' Orlando coach Vince Williams said. "There are so many things that could happen. There's a lot of parity in this conference.''

Eight teams will make the playoffs out of the Eastern Conference, and seven have qualified already. The eighth likely will be the Fort Wayne Komets, whose 80 points are only 14 behind the conference's top team, the Reading Royals.

The Solar Bears, currently tied with the Cincinnati Cyclones for the fourth seed, could finish anywhere from second to seventh in the East. The seemingly constant reshuffling of playoff positioning is enough to give a hockey fan vertigo.

"It's pretty ridiculous,'' Solar Bears forward Jacob Cepis said. "You feel like you win a game and don't gain any ground, because the other teams are winning, too.''

Said forward Mickey Lang, who has accounted for 49 points (27 goals, 22 assists) in 34 games since joining Orlando from Fort Wayne. "We want to put ourselves in a good situation. It's been helpful that every game we've been in has been meaningful.

"There is always a purpose.''

The race within a race involves the South Division championship. The South Carolina Stingrays lead the Solar Bears by four points but have only one game left. Orlando holds the tiebreaker should the teams finish with the same points total.

Or the Solar Bears could fall behind Greenville into third place.

"We should be comfortable with playing anybody [in the playoffs],'' Cepis said.

After Thursday night, the Solar Bears will host Reading on Saturday night and the Road Warriors again on Sunday.

The first-round playoff schedule is expected to be revealed Monday, with the Solar Bears' playoff opener as early as next Thursday.

"We need guys to bring it every single night,'' Williams said. "We need to take advantage of being at home.''

Said Lang: "If we play a strong 60 minutes, then I think we will get a good result in the end.''